Vibratory device

ABSTRACT

A vibratory compactor has a vibration-producing drive which is mounted in an elongated tubular housing. The housing has spaced end walls one of which is of one piece with its peripheral wall, and the peripheral wall increases in thickness towards the one end wall. A cap is provided which can be releasably connected with the one end wall.

States atent 1191 Schneider et al. Jan. 8, 1974 VIBRATORY DEVICE 2,808,238 10/1957 Spitler 259 010. 42 75 Inventors: Wolfgang Schneider, Leinfelden; at? Goflhilf Stmhbeckr Leonberg; 1 479 071 1/1924 Hat field 151/41 Walter Harlin, Stuttgart; Friedrich I I i I Riickert, Stetten; Eugen Stable, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Magstadt, all Of Germany 729,176 11/1942 Germany 259 010. 42 851,908 10/1939 France 259 010. 41 [73] Asslgnee' g gi GmbH Stuttgart 1,438,778 4 1966 France 259 010. 41 y 1,099,954 1/1968 Great Britain 259/DIG. 41 [22] Filed: Dec. 3, 1971 21 App] N 204,451 Primary ExaminerHarvey C. Hornsby Assistant ExaminerAlan I. Cantor Alt M' h IS. St 'k 30 Foreign Application Priority Data omey 38 er Dec. 9, 1970 G e rr narE/QLIIIQ"1.11 20 60 5383 [57] ABSTRACT 'i 259/1 3 f 3 A vibratory compactor has a vibration-producing [58] Fieid DIG 41 drive which is mounted in an elongated tubular hous- 259/DIG g ing. The housing has spaced end walls one of which is 5 5 310/44: of one piece with its peripheral wall, and the peripheral wall increases in thickness towards the one end [56] References Cited wall. A cap is provided which can be releasably con- UNITED STATES PATENTS nected with the one end wall. 3,418,504 12/1968 Paule et al. 310/90 x 10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures VIBRATORY DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a vibratory device, and in particular to a vibratory compacting device.

Vibratory compacting devices are already known. They are used for compacting pourable materials, such as cement or concrete. For this purpose they are inserted or dipped into the material (e.g. concrete) while the latter is in flowable state and the vibrations which they transmit to such material result in compacting of the latter.

It follows from the manner in which these devices are employed, that the exterior of the device housing is in direct contact with the material to which vibrations are to be transmitted. Because of the relative movement between the device and the surrounding material the device housing is, of course, subjected to substantial wear. Because of this the known devices of the type here under discussion are made so that worn parts can be readily replaced, Wear does, of course, occur not only on the housing but also on the drive which produces the vibrations; however, progress which has been made in the construction of electric motors (usually used for effecting the vibrations) and in the construction of roller and slide bearings employed, has been such, however, that if the movable components of vibratory compactors are appropriately constructed it is no longer the life of these components which determines the service life of the compacting and vibrating device, but it is actually only the life of the housing itself. Housings can, of course, also be made replaceable so that they can be replaced with a new one when they become worn excessively. However, the replacement of housings in these devices is more difficult than the replacement of other components because, in order for the various components to be able to-withstand the vibratory forces which act upon them, the various components (for instance the rotor packet and the bearings at their circumference) are manufactured to close tolerances and pressed into the housing; this means that when they are to be removed from the housing the danger exists that they may become damaged.

Such housings are usually constructed as tubular components which are open at opposite ends and which are closed at the end opposite to the one through which the conductors for supply of electrical energy pass, with a removable cap. At this end, also, the vibratory movement of the device is most pronounced and therefore the wear in this region is greatest. For this reason the cap is made so that it can be replaced by itself, irrespective of the replacement of any other components, and is connected with the housing by means of threads and additionally usually secured by spot welding. When such a cap should become loosened, then the material to be compacted can enter into the interior of the compacting device which, as will be recalled, is usually inserted into the material and can make the device unusable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is thus a general object of the present invention to provide an improved vibratory device of the type here under discussion which is not possessed of the aforementioned disadvantages.

In particular it is an object of the present invention to provide such a device in which the difficulties in replacement of worn parts, and particularly of a worn or damaged housing, are avoided.

An additional object of the invention is to make it possible for the housing cap to be replaced without any damage that the device will become thereby susceptible to intrusion of contaminants into its interior and thus become endangered.

In pursuance of these and other objects which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a vibratory device, particularly a vibratory compactor, which briefly stated comprises vibration-producing means, and an elongated substantially tubular housing accommodating the vibrationproducing means. The housing has a tubular peripheral wall and an end wall of one piece with the peripheral wall, and the latter has a thickness which increases in direction towards the end wall. Further, there is provided a cap which is releasably connectable with the end wall.

The lamellae package of the stator can be held together by a light-metal casting, that is a casting of aluminum, magnesium or the like, or alloys employing such materials. The casting will form at the opposite ends of the package respective end rings having outwardly directed beveled surfaces or shoulders onto which there is press-fitted a steel ring which projects outwardly in axial parallelism with the casting ring, with the predetermined distance between the outer edge of the one and the outer edge of the other steel ring being determined by the press-fitting of the rings. It is advantageous to connect the lamellae package of the stator with the housing by adhesive means, and the outer configuration of the stator package can be appropriately worked by material-removal method with sufficient accuracy. To further simplify the construction of the vibratory device the inlet nipples for the energy conductors, and the rear bearing shield which faces towards these conductors can be constructed as a unitary one-piece component which can be connected with the housing by press-fitting and welding.

It is already known to provide a vibratory mass in the interior of the housing in the region of the one end wall which is of one piece with the peripheral wall; such masses are journalled at least twice, that is they have at least two journals associated with them, If in the device according to the present invention such a mass is provided, then the journalling thereof is advantageously such that two anti-friction bearings are provided, of which one faces towards the electromotor for the drive and serves to journal the output shaft of the motor. In other words, this one bearing serves to journal both the vibratory mass and the output shaft of the motor. The other motor journal journalling the opposite end of the motor can be constructed as a needle bearing or as a slide bearing, preferably as a sinter bearing.

As pointed out before, the cap is to be releasably connectable with the one end wall of. the housing. In order to make this possible it is advantageous to provide the exterior side of the end wall centrally with a threaded projection onto which the cap can be threaded by providing it with suitable mating threads. The interior of the cap may be provided with sawteeth. which can be moved during threading of the cap onto the projection, into frictional engagement with a spring ring provided on the housing.

The conductors which are passed through the tubular nipple can be retained in position within the latter by filling the nipple with elastic material and/or with cellular material, by injecting such material into the nipple or by introducing it in unfoamed state and subsequently foaming it so that it will fill the interior of the nipple.

Because the wall of the housing is thicker in the region of the end wall, it is possible to make the housing in simple and effective manner by known extrusion molding techniques.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through one embodiment of a device according to the present invention;

FIG. 1a is a fragmentary section showing a detail of a further embodiment and I FIG. 2 is a side view of the device in FIG. 1, shown on a smaller scale.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing the drawing in detail it is pointed out that the device per se is identified with reference numeral 1. It has a substantially tubular housing provided with an outer peripheral or circumferential wall 2 the exterior of which is cylindrically configurated. The wall 2 is open at one end 3 and at the other end 4 it is closed by means of an end wall 5 which is of one piece with the peripheral wall 2. The housing is advantageously produced by extrusion molding.

A seat 6 of short centric configuration is provided immediately inwardly of the wall 5, and a recess 7 is provided in it by turning. Behind the recess there is provided a seat 8 for an anti-friction bearing which is configurated as a roller bearing 9 in this embodiment.

Following the seat 8 the peripheral wall 2 is provided with an inner section 10 having a larger internal diameter and a thickness which is almost equal to the thickness of the wall 5. Following the section 10, again towards the left in FIG. 1, there is a turned recess 11 and subsequently a seat 12 for a further anti-friction bearing, here configurated as a ball-bearing 13. The seats 8 and 12 are of course appropriately finished.

For the remainder 14 of its length the wall 2 has a larger internal diameter so that it is thinner than in the region 10 and immediately adjacent the wall 5; the length of the portion 14 corresponds to approximately two-thirds of the overall length of the wall 2.

In order to be able to releasably mount the cap 18 on the wall 5, the outer side thereof is provided with an outwardly projecting threaded portion or pin 16 having an external thread 17. The cap 18, advantageously made of hardened steel, is provided in its end face 19 which is to face the wall 5 when the cap is connected therewith, with a central bore 20 which is tapped with an internal thread 21 dimensioned to mesh with the thread 17. In the region of the bore 20 the end face 19 is provided with a cylindrical recess 22 the end wall of which, which is normal to the axis of the recess, is provided with sawteeth 23. Before the cap 18 is threaded onto the pin 16 a spring ring of spring material and identified with reference numeral 24, is pushed onto the pin 16; when the cap 18 is subsequently threaded onto the pin 16 the spring ring 24 will till the recess 22 and one of its free ends it should be recalled that spring rings are circumferentially incomplete and that their opposite ends are displaced to mutually opposite sides of the general plane of the ringpresses and bites into the material of the wall 5 at the outer side thereof, whereas the other free end engages in the teeth 23 and thus prevents cap 18 from becoming accidentally loosened during vibration of the device.

A spacing ring 25 is pushed into the recess 6 and provided with a central bore 26 and at its side which faces the opposite open end 3 of the housing with a recess 27.

Mounted in the seat 8 is the anti-friction bearing 9 in such a manner that its outer race abuts against the spacing ring 25, whereas its inner race is pushed onto a shaft 28 which is of one-piece with a vibratory mass 29 which is configurated essentially as a semi-cylinder. A second shaft or projection 30 is formed on the mass at the other side thereof, and press fitted onto this is the inner race of the anti-friction bearing 13. Projecting in axial parallelism from and being of one piece with the projection 30, is a projection 31 of smaller diameter. Inserted into the seat 12 at opposite side of the bearing 13 are respective spacing rings 32 and 33. The ring 32 which is closer to the wall 5 is inserted between the outer race of the bearing 13 and a shoulder of the section 10, whereas the ring 33 which is located at the opposite axial side of the bearing 13 is located between the outer race thereof and a steel ring 34. Both of the rings 32 and 33 are provided with portions which extend radially inwardly towards the longitudinal axis of the wall 2 and thus serve as labyrinthine seals for the bearing 13.

A drive motor 35 is located between the bearing 13 and the open housing end 3; in the illustrated embodiment the motor 35 is configurated as an alternating current motor which operates on 200 cycles. The motor has a rotor 36 and a stator 37. The stator lamellae package, which in known manner is composed of individual lamellae and provided with a predetermined uniform diameter, is provided in its cylindrical outer surface with grooves 38 following the generatrix. In the region of the ends of the package the outer diameter of the same is reduced so that respective frusto-conical surfaces or shoulders 39 and 40 are formed. A light metal is cast about the package and that amount of the metal which flows into the grooves 38 forms longitudinal rods 41 therein. At the opposite axial ends of the package the light metal forms a pair of approximately hollow cylindrical end rings 42 and 43 which extend in axial parallelism. The winding in the package forms winding heads 44 and 45 at the opposite ends of the package which project beyond the end faces of the package within the end rings 42 and 43.

A pair of steel rings 34 and 46 are press fitted onto the outer circumferential surfaces of the rings 42 and 43, in such a manner that the component composed of the package and the steel rings receives due to the press fittinga predetermined longitudinal dimension between the opposite axially outer edges of the rings 34 and 46. This component is provided at its cylindrical outer surface with a suitable adhesive and then inserted into the wall 2 with the ring 34 being supported via the ring 33, the outer race of the bearing 13 and the ring 32 by the shoulder of the housing section 10. The adhesive serves to provide a non releasable bond with the wall 2.

A conductor inlet nipple 47 is press fitted in the open end of the wall 2, and is made of one piece with a bearing shield 48. Located in a central bore 49 of the shield 48 is a slide bearing, inserted by press fitting and constructed as a sintered bearing sleeve 50. As shown in FIG. la, the sleeve 50 may be replaced with a needle bearing 50'. The bearing is supported via an intermediate ring 51 by a steel sheet disc 52 which closes the bore against the interior of the nipple 47.

The nipple 47 is configurated as a tubular portion 53 on the side facing outwardly of the housing, and the portion 53 is provided in the region of its opening with a thickened bead 54 which projects radially outwardly and forms outwardly of the opening a cone with a small angle, and decreases from the point of largest diameter towards the initial diameter of the tubular portion 53 at a more pronounced conical angle. Then a portion 55 having the original diameter of the tubular portion 53 follows and connects the portion 54 with the remainder of the nipple 47 which is of flange-like configuration. The configuration of the portion 53 and the bead 54 permits a rubber or similar material hose to be pushed onto it and through which the conductors are to be inserted. A surface 55 is located within the nipple 47 and formed with a bore 56. A mass (neutral) conductor 57 is extended through the tubular portion 53 and an opening of the bearing shield to the bore 56 where it is fixed with a slotted screw 58. Three current conductors 59 which are inserted through the tubular portion 53, pass through the opening in the bearing shield and are connected with the winding of the stator. The interior hollow of the nipple 47 is filled with cellular material in this embodiment, that is with synthetic foam plastic. At the output side of the rotor 36 of the motor 35 there is provided a bore 60 in which the projection 31 is nonrotatably press fitted. At the input side the rotor is provided with a projection 61 which is journaled in the bearing 50. The nipple 47 is secured against movement after press fitting into the wall 2, by means of a welded seam 62.

It will be seen that the device according to the present invention is so constructed that the movable internal components and the housing are carefully accommodated to one another in such a manner that their useful life will be approximately the same. This means that there is no point in replacing any one component because all will wear out at approximately the same time. Because of this it is not necessary for the device according to the present invention to be constructed in such a manner that any of its components can be removed for replacement, except for the removable cap 18 which of course is subject to the maximum amount of wear and which should therefore be removable for replacement. The cap may, incidentally, also be of an elastomeric material, for instance if the device is to be used within very narrow concrete forms, that is forms in which concrete is accommodated which is to be compacted with the device. This is another reason why the cap 18 should be removable so that it can be replaced with such an elastomeric cap if and when the necessity arises. It will be noted that removal of the cap even under operating conditions, that is on a building site, does not bring with it the danger that contaminants might enter the interior of the device, contrary to what is known from the prior art, because the interior remains closed by the provision of the wall 5 even when the cap has been removed.

The construction of the device according to the present invention is particularly simple, as will be appreciated. One reason for this is that only a central bearing is provided which serves both to journal one side of the rotor and one side of the vibratory mass. Also, the housing need be finished only at the seats for the two anti-friction bearings. The stator need not be press fitted but can be mounted by means of an adhesive and for this reason its surface need not be finished as by grinding but can simply be shaped by other less expensive material-removal methods. Because the nipple 47 is configurated as a one-piece casting and also constitutes a bearing shield, a further simplification is obtained. An additional advantage in terms of simplification is the construction of the stator as a cast-about lamellae package with press fitted steel end rings which protect the winding heads and which produce the precise necessary axial length of the stator simply by pressing them onto their respective seats on the casting to the necessary extent. It will be clear that this construction of the device according to the present invention permits its production at relatively low expense so that the device can be sold much more inexpensively than heretofore. At the same time the device is completely protected against the intrusions of contaminants, as well as against tampering, and maintenance and repair costs are avoided because due to the fact that no component is made to outlast any other, the device need not be and is not capable of being disassembled.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a vibratory device, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential features of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A vibratory device, particularly a vibratory compactor, comprising vibration-producing means including an electromotor having a stator comprising a lamellae package having opposite ends, a light metal casting connecting the lamellae of said package and forming at said opposite ends ring-shaped portions having outwardly directed bevelled shoulders, and a pair of steel rings each press-fitted on one of said shoulders and projecting beyond the same in axial parallelism therewith, a rotor, and conductors for connection to a source of electrical energy;

an elongated substantially tubular housing accommodating said vibration-producing means and having a tubular peripheral wall and an end wall of one piece with said peripheral wall, said peripheral wall having a thickness which increases in direction toward said end wall; and

a cap releasably connectable with said end wall.

2. A device as defined in claim 1; further comprising a vibratable mass located in said housing in the region of said end wall; and at least two bearings journalling said mass.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, said bearings being anti-friction bearings, and one of said bearings being located adjacent said motor and also journalling one end of said rotor thereof.

4. A device as defined in claim 3; further comprising an additional bearing journalling the other end of said rotor in the region of said conductors, said additional bearing being a needle bearing.

5. A device as defined in claim 3; further comprising an additional bearing journalling the other end of said rotor in the region of said conductors, said additional bearing being a slide bearing.

6. A device as defined in claim 5, wherein said additional bearing is a sintered slide bearing.

7. A device as defined in claim 1, said end wall having an outer side provided with a central threaded projection, and said cap having mating threads for connection with said end wall.

8. A device as defined in claim 7; further comprising a spring ring at said outer side of said end wall, and inner saw-tooth shaped projections in said cap for frictional engagement with said spring ring.

9. A device as defined in claim 1; further comprising a tubular guide through which said conductors pass; and elastically yieldable material filling said tubular guide for maintaining said conductors in position within said tubular guide.

10. A device as defined in claim 9, wherein said material is cellular material. 

1. A vibratory device, particularly a vibratory compactor, comprising vibration-producing means including an electromotor having a stator comprising a lamellae package having opposite ends, a light metal casting connecting the lamellae of said package and forming at said opposite ends ring-shaped portions having outwardly directed bevelled shoulders, and a pair of steel rings each press-fitted on one of said shoulders and projecting beyond the same in axial parallelism therewith, a rotor, and conductors for connection to a source of electrical energy; an elongated substantially tubular housing accommodating said vibration-producing means and having a tubular peripheral wall and an end wall of one piece with said peripheral wall, said peripheral wall having a thickness which increases in direction toward said end wall; and a cap releasably connectable with said end wall.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1; further comprising a vibratable mass located in said housing in the region of said end wall; and at least two bearings journalling said mass.
 3. A device as defined in claim 2, said bearings being anti-friction bearings, and one of said bearings being located adjacent said motor and also journalling one end of said rotor thereof.
 4. A device as defined in claim 3; further comprising an additional bearing journalling the other end of said rotor in the region of said conductors, said additional bearing being a needle bearing.
 5. A device as defined in claim 3; further comprising an additional bearing journalling the other end of said rotor in the region of said conductors, said additional bearing being a slide bearing.
 6. A device as defined in claim 5, wherein said additional bearing is a sintered slide bearing.
 7. A device as defined in claim 1, said end wall having an outer side provided with a central threaded projection, and said cap having mating threads for connection with said end wall.
 8. A device as defined in claim 7; further comprising a spring ring at said outer side of said end wall, and inner saw-tooth shaped projections in said cap for frictional engagement with said spring ring.
 9. A device as defined in claim 1; further comprising a tubular guide through which said conductors pass; and elastically yieldable material filling said tubular guide for maintaining said conductors in position within said tubular guide.
 10. A device as defined in claim 9, wherein said material is cellular material. 